Bantams have disjointed look in first pre-season friendly

HOPEFULLY the recovered North Yorkshire library ticket was reunited with its owner.

At least then, one of the pressing issues from City’s first pre-season fixture will have been resolved.

The unusual PA announcement towards the end of the first half drew a laugh from the travelling contingent in Lancashire.

There wasn’t much else to remember from a friendly that provided the annual reminder of why these occasions are nothing more than a chore to get through.

Results in pre-season, as we are always told, do not matter. Just as well, you’d suggest in this case, but then this was little more than another training exercise for the Bantams squad with a ball thrown in.

READ MORE: Alexander not bothered with score from pre-season opener

Graham Alexander had issued the pre-match warning that those in claret and amber would be suitably “fatigued” from the double sessions that have peppered the first full week back at Apperley Bridge.

There was also a disjointed look about the two separate 11s that he fielded at a club he knew well from many pre-season jousts as a player with neighbouring Preston.

Twenty-two different players got 45 minutes under their belts, including a trialist goalkeeper, three from the youth team and Vadaine Oliver coming back from the deep freeze of his Stevenage loan.

Keeper Brad James, a former Middlesbrough academy product most recently of Spennymoor, had a tough time – most notably with the mess he got in for Chorley’s second goal.

Youngsters Max Murray, Leon Brookes and George Goodman fared better – particularly the Goodman on the right of the second-half back three who linked up enthusiastically with Gabe Wadsworth and Alex Pattison.

The return of Pattison and Jake Young was a sight for sore eyes, the midfielder especially getting quickly into his stride, hunting the ball and eager to get forward. You sense with him there is a lot of time to make up.

City mark two were by far the more cohesive unit, although they were unable to chip away at the lead that the eager hosts had built up by the break.

City supporters got their first look at Antoni Sarcevic (Image: Max Lomas)

The first goal came literally from the opening kick-off – well a whole 25 seconds in anyway.

Murray could not clear his lines to the right of the City box, Chorley regained the ball and Kole Hall’s quick-thinking back heel set up Tom Carr to slot home.

James’ first involvement in the keeper’s jersey was to pick the ball from his net.

Chorley looked surprisingly sharp for this early in July or maybe it was City’s mix-and-match side appearing off it after their exhausting previous days.

Neill Byrne cleared off the line from Amadou Doumbouya and Sam Bird’s long throw-ins caused confusion in the defensive ranks.

James rashly charged into a ruck of players from one, missed it completely and could only watch as Carr helped himself to a second goal.

City fans got a first glimpse of Byrne and his ex-Stockport team-mate Antoni Sarcevic but other summer recruits Aden Baldwin, Callum Johnson and Tyreik Wright were among the absentees.

Brad Halliday and Calum Kavanagh also missed out along with Kevin McDonald, who like Oliver is one the club are looking to move on.

Bobby Pointon was a busy presence without managing to create anything while Adam Wilson, starting at left wing-back, found little in the way of end product.

Jake Young saw his first action since his hamstring operation (Image: Max Lomas)

Alex Gilliead had a sniff of a response to going two down but was closed down by a fine sliding block before James did manage something more positive on his highlight reel to tip over Warren Clarke’s drive.

Oliver and Young had got little change out of Chorley’s backline but there was more promise from the switched front two of Andy Cook, captaining the side after the break, and Tyler Smith.

Former City back-up keeper Matt Urwin turned away a well-struck Smith effort and then produced a brilliant reaction block from his close-range header. The fact that the offside flag then went up against the striker did not diminish an outstanding save.

Urwin made a legitimate intervention to keep out a Jamie Walker free-kick and City were denied a penalty when Pattison was tripped clearly inside the box as he fought to win back a loose ball.

CITY (first half): Trialist, Murray, Byrne, Kelly, Gilliead, Smallwood, Wilson, Sarcevic, Pointon, Young, Oliver.

Second half: S Walker, Goodman, Stubbs, Brookes, Wadsworth, Oduor, Richards, Pattison, J Walker, Smith, Cook.